A Deeply Personal Message to Our Supporters

Dear SnaccPop Patreon Community,

We want to open our hearts to you and share some deeply personal truths about our journey at SnaccPop Studios.

We Are Human Beings Just Like You

Behind every character you’ve come to love and every story that has ignited your imagination, there are real people with real lives. We are more than an LGBT+ studio; we are a collective of intersectionality marginalized peoples. Many of us are navigating significant personal challenges—physical disabilities, chronic illnesses, mental health conditions, and the lingering shadows of personal traumas. These aren’t just occasional hurdles; they’re daily battles that profoundly affect how we live and how we create.

The Reality Behind the Scenes

We understand that many of you have been aware of our characters and stories for years. You might wonder why progress seems slow or why there have been so few updates. The truth is, we haven’t been working nonstop around the clock. There have been numerous hiatuses and production holds—not because of a lack of dedication or passion—but because life has thrown significant obstacles our way.

Our team is made up of independent contractors—about 40 incredible individuals—who, in addition to their commitments to SnaccPop Studios, have other obligations they must fulfill to survive. The financial support we receive, while deeply appreciated, isn’t sufficient to cover basic living expenses for all of us. It might seem like $6,000 to $8,000 a month is a lot, but spread across 40 people, it doesn’t go far. We have rent or mortgages to pay, utilities to keep on, bills piling up, insurance premiums, transportation costs—the list goes on. Many of us are juggling multiple jobs or responsibilities just to make ends meet.

Our Collective Struggles

We have team members who have lost their homes to natural disasters. Imagine trying to focus on creative work when you’re worried about where you’ll sleep at night or how to rebuild your life from scratch. Some of us have faced the devastating loss of family members and haven’t had the time or resources to process our grief properly. Others are managing untreated, unmedicated mental health issues—battling severe depression, anxiety, PTSD—without access to the care we desperately need.

The waitlists for proper psychological and psychiatric healthcare seem endless. We’ve been fighting to get affordable access to the help we need, but the system keeps pushing us further down the line. Every day is a struggle, and yet we press on because we are passionate about what we create and we care deeply about our community.

Why We Haven’t Been Able to Update You

We know that our lack of updates might feel frustrating. But please understand that it’s not because we don’t value you or your support. It’s because we’re dealing with significant personal challenges that make it difficult to maintain a regular production schedule. There have been times when we simply couldn’t bring ourselves to work—not out of laziness or neglect—but because our physical, mental and emotional reserves were depleted.

We’ve been trying to manage these challenges while also meeting the expectations of our community. It’s a delicate balance, and sometimes, our personal well-being has had to take precedence. We haven’t always been able to communicate this effectively, and for that, we apologize. We want to do better in sharing our journey with you, even when it’s messy and complicated.

The Impact of Unrealistic Expectations

We’ve heard suggestions from some in our community that we should replace team members who are struggling or not meeting deadlines. But that’s not who we are. Many of us have experienced firsthand what it’s like to be dismissed or overlooked because of our disabilities or health issues. We’ve had to hide our conditions, mask our pain, and pretend everything was fine just to keep our jobs in the past. We’re committed to not perpetuating that cycle within SnaccPop Studios.

We refuse to adopt the cold practices of industries that see people as disposable. We believe in supporting each other through hardships, not discarding someone when life gets tough. If a team member needs time because they’re unwell or facing a crisis, we stand by them. We adjust, we redistribute tasks, we wait—because we care about each other as human beings.

Our Plea for Empathy and Patience

We are pouring our hearts into our work, but we need your understanding. Creativity doesn’t thrive under relentless pressure, especially when personal struggles weigh heavily on us. We ask for your empathy and patience as we navigate these challenges. Know that every delay, every hiatus, is not taken lightly. It’s a difficult decision made to preserve the health and well-being of our team.

Moving Forward Together

To prioritize our well-being, we’ve decided to step away from strict deadlines. We’ll keep you updated on our progress as best we can, sharing insights into our process and being transparent about the obstacles we face. We believe that by taking care of ourselves, we can create better, more meaningful work that resonates with you on a deeper level.

If this approach doesn’t meet your expectations, we understand if you choose to step away. Your time, energy, money, and support are valuable, and you have every right to decide where to invest them. But please remember that threats of public shaming, doxing, exposés, libel and hypotheses on our personal lives, or demands for faster production only serve to harm real people who are already facing significant challenges and already feel shame and guilt for not being able to continue to push past their limits and boundaries more than they already have. Frankly, these reactions don’t speed up our work; they hinder it by adding stress and fear to our lives. There are many who have already decided to leave SnaccPop and its productions for fear and anxiety of such retaliation and ire of the threats mentioned above from a minority within the community. We are actively doing the best that we are able to and hope for you all to see what we can do when we are in a more secure and safe place.

A Heartfelt Thank You

To those who have stood by us, who have offered words of encouragement, who have waited patiently—we cannot thank you enough. Your support means more to us than words can express. You are the reason we continue to create, even when the road is difficult.

We hope you’ll see that we’re not just a studio—we’re a group of individuals trying to navigate life’s challenges while sharing our passions with you. We’re committed to our work and to you, our community. We believe in the power of stories to connect us, to heal us, to inspire us.

In Closing

We wanted to share this with you not to elicit sympathy, but to foster understanding. We hope that by opening up about our struggles, you can see the humanity behind the art. We are doing our best, and sometimes that means progress is slower than we’d like. But we believe that the journey is just as important as the destination.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Your empathy and kindness make a world of difference.

With deep gratitude and respect,

The SnaccPop Studios Team